Rapid Prototyping of Full Scale House Structures Available to Purchase

This paper reports on the machining of a construction material (aerated concrete) with a rapid prototyping device, Shapemaker III, which is based on waterjet technology. Preliminary machining tests were carried out to investigate machining conditions (speed and pressure) of separation cuts. Cutting speeds for the waterjet were investigated for two aerated concrete construction materials; autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) in two strengths (348 and 580 psi compressive strength) and a non-autoclaved, fiber reinforced aerated concrete (FRAC) with a 450 psi compressive strength. Cutting samples were prepared in four thicknesses (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 inches) and cut at two pressures (40 and 60 ksi). The 0.5 and 1 inch specimens were cut with good surface finish at over 600 in/min at 40 ksi. The 2 and 3 inch specimens could be cut at 320 and 80 in/min at 40 ksi, respectively. The experimental data was used in the fabrication of rapid prototyping houses with a pure waterjet machine. As results, full scale houses were fabricated with FRAC and Styrofoam. Additionally, a sub-mold of an outdoor fireplace was manufactured with Styrofoam for casting of customized aerated concrete blocks.